Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Increased by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Key Points

• Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 15.7%, acquiring an additional 7,953 shares, bringing their total to 58,665 shares valued at approximately $6.52 million.
• Aflac's latest earnings report revealed earnings per share of $1.66, falling short of analysts' expectations, with revenue significantly down 37.5% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Aflac, with three rating it as a "buy," eight as a "hold," and three as a "sell," reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.15.

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,953 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $6,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Aflac by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 19,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,993,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 348,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,111,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,286,042,000 after buying an additional 288,482 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,768,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,041,789. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $95.97 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $53.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $102.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.15.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.